Support stand



'4 Aug. 19, 1969 I H. L. scHwElcH 3,462,592

l SUPPORT STAND Filed May 3', 1967 INVENTOR -a HENRY l.. scHwElcH 7 u Y Z /v 5/ 'l\3 l BY 33 70 v e..

ATTORNEY United States Patent O M 3,462,592 SUPPRT STAND Henry L. Schweich, Clayton, Mo., assignor to Royal Bond, Inc., St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed May 3, 1967, Ser. No. 635,773 Int. Cl. F21v 33/00 U.S. Cl. 24th-2 10 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DHSCLOSURE A stand for supporting and illuminating a book, manuscript, or other item, and having an inclined board beneath which a fluorescent lamp is mounted. A rectilinear piece of light-conducting plastic extends upwardly from the vicinity of the bulb and terminates at a beveled upper surface so that the plastic forms a prism for reflecting and casting the light from the lamp down onto the upper surface of the board. A metal reflecting surface extends across the beveled surface of the plastic to intensify the light cast upon the upper surface of the board.

This invention relates in general to supporting stands and, more particularly, to a support stand having unique means for illuminating items supported by it.

It is common practice for funeral homes to provide a registration book at some convenient location so that the family of the deceased may have some remembrance of the friends who paid their last respects to the deceased. These registration books are generally supported on a registration stand comprising a pedestal and an inclined supporting surface mounted on the pedestal and having some sort of illumination directed upon it. Inasmuch as funeral homes 'are generally dimly lit, this illumination is often supplied by a lamp attached directly to the stand and located above the inclined supporting surface so that its rays, by means of a suitable reflector, may be'directed down upon the pages of the book. Since conventional bulbs, even of the so-called tubular or showcase variety, are relatively large, these reflectors must also be large and bulky in order to mask them. Consequently, conventional lighting arrangements for not only registration stands, but also pulpit boards, lecterns, and the like, do not blend in well with the trim lines of modern design concepts.

Moreover, in view of their relatively large size, such lighting arrangements must often extend over the inclined surface to furnish adequate illumination and in so doing obstruct the pages of whatever book or manuscript may be on that surface. This makes it difficult to turn pages and is particularly bothersome to a speaker delivering a speech from such a lectern.

Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted the provision of a supporting stand for books or other items having a lighting arrangement which is completely masked from view, yet adequately illuminates the books or other items; the provision of a supporting stand of the type stated on which the pages of the books or other items may be turned without interference from any protruding objects; the provision of a supporting stand of the type stated which lends itself to modern design concepts and is aesthetically pleasing; and the provision of a supporting stand of the type stated which is simple and durable in construction and economical to manufacture.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated:

FIG. l is a front View of a support stand constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

3,462,592 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken along lines 2-2 and 3 3, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end view of the support stand as viewed from line 5 5 of FIG. 2;

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawlngs.

Referring now to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, 2 designates a support stand for books or other items including a pedestal 4 to which an inclined support board 6 is secured. Support board 6, in turn, carries a rear illuminating assembly 8 which casts a soft light upon the upper surface of board 6.

Pedestal 4 includes a base 10 composed of three attractively finished plates 12, 14, 16, which are held in spaced parallel and marginally registered relation by means of corner bolts 18 and sleeves 20. At their lower ends, corner bolts 18 are provided with attractively nished spherical heads 22 which rest on the oor and at their opposite ends they are fitted with attractively iinished spherical nuts 24 which engage the upwardly presented surface of plate 12 and hold plates 12, 14, 16, together in stacked relation.

Projecting upwardly from base 10 are upstanding posts 26, 28, each having a stepped ange 30 at its lower end and a threaded tie rod 32 centrally projecting therefrom. Each tie rod 32 extends through apertures 33 in plates 12, v14, 16, as well as concentrically through spacer sleeves 34 which are interposed between plates 12, 14, 16. At their extreme lower ends, each tie rod 32 is fitted with a nut 38 for securely holding posts 26, 28, to base 10.

Bolted or otherwise securely fastened to the rearwardly presented faces of posts 26, 28, and extending the entire height thereof is a pedestal panel 40 preferably formed from a light-conducting plastic such as Lucite or Plexiglas and having a cross, Star of David, or some other suitable symbol etched into the rear face thereof.

At their upper ends, posts 26, 28, are fitted with inclined flanges 42 and bolted or otherwise securely fastened to the upper surfaces of flanges 42 is inclined support board 6. Along its forwardly presented edge, board 6 is provided with an L-shaped member 44, the lower ange of which abuts against and is securely fastened to the underside of board 6 so as to hold its upper flange against the forward end face of board 6. The upper flange of member 44 extends upwardly past the upwardly presented surface of board 6 in the provision of a lip 46 for preventing a book or other object from sliding off board 6.

Mounted on the underside of board 6 immediately to the rear of pedestal panel 40 is a forward lighting assembly 50 including a pair of conventional fluorescent sockets 52 which receive and retain a conventional fluorescent bulb 54, preferably of 8 watts capacity. As Will be seen by reference to FIG. 2, bulb S4 is located adjacent the upper edge or face of panel 40 so that the light rays emitted from the former enter the latter. These light rays are transmitted through pedestal panel 40 to the Cross, Star of David, or other symbol etched therein, which being of relatively rough texture, is thereby illuminated. Secured to the upper ends of posts 26, 28, is a transversely extending bafe panel S6 which extends upwardly to the underside of board 6 and completely masks the forwardly presented surfaces of bulb 54 and sockets 52. Bale panel 56 is preferably formed from a sheet metal such as aluminum having relatively high reflective properties so as to reflect further light rays into the upper face of panel 40.

Rear illuminating assembly 8 includes a pair of conventional fluorescent sockets 60 which are secured to the underside of board 6 and carry a fluorescent bulb 62, also preferably of 8 watts capacity. Sockets 60 are disposed so that bulb 62 will be located slightly beyond and below the planar rear face 64 of board 6 (FIG. 2). Rigidly aflixed to board 6 in outwardly spaced relation from 'sockets 60 are illuminating panel mounts 66, 68, each integrally including a lower flange 70 and an upstanding flange 72. Lower flanges 70 are rigidly held against the downwardly presented surface of board 6 by means of wood screws and are disposed thereon so that their upstanding flanges 72 are located in outwardly spaced parallel relation to rear face 64 of board 6. Fitted snugly into the spaces between upstanding flanges 72 and rear face 64 is a rectilinear illuminating panel 76 which is also formed from a transparent plastic of the light-conducting Variety such as Lucite or Plexiglas. Extending through the portions of lower ilanges 70` located beyond rear face 64 are screws 77 which thread upwardly into panel 76 and hold it securely in place. Accordingly, the lower surface of illuminating panel 76 is disposed immediately above bulb 62 so that the light rays emitted therefrom will enter panel 76.

Panel 76 possesses a beveled upper face 78 which is canted rearwardly with respect to the forward face thereof so as to transform panel 76 into a light-reflecting prism. Consequently the light rays emitted from bulb 62 after passing upwardly through panel 76 strike beveled face 78 where they are reflected forwardly through the front face of panel 76 and down onto the upper surface board 6. By properly adjusting the inclination of upper face 78, it is possible to achieve proper placement and optimum distribution of the light on board 6. Beveled face 78 is covered by strip-like opaque light shield 80 preferably formed from a metal of relatively high luster so that any light rays which escape through face 78 will be further rellected down onto board 6. Shield 80 is provided along its forward margin with a downwardly extending lip 82 which extends over the extreme upper edge of panel 76 in order to eliminate any possibility of glare at this point. If desired Iany suitable message such as please register may be etched into the rear face of illuminating panel 76.

Rigidly attached to the underside of board 6 intermediate illuminating assemblies 50, 8, are a pair of downwardly extending brackets 84 having -downwardly projecting threaded studs 86 which engage a pair of wing nuts for retaining a housing 88 thereon. Housing 88 completely encloses bulbs S4, 62, as well as various fluorescent lamp components such as transformers, starters, wiring, and the like, all of which are secured to board 6 in the area located intermediate bulbs 52, 60, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Along its rear margin housing 88 merges into an upwardly projecting flange 90 which overlaps the rearwardly presented face of panel 76 intermediate upstanding flanges 72 of mount 68. Along its forward margins housing 88 endwise abuts against the rearwardly presented faces of baille panel 56 and pedestal panel 40. Housing 88 is preferably formed from a sheet metal having a relatively high luster such as aluminum so that the light rays striking the inner surfaces thereof will be reflected into panels 40, 76. Mounted on and projecting outwardly from oneof brackets 84 is a Iswitch 92 for energizing bulbs 54, 62.

In use, a registration book or other book or manuscript is placed on the upper surface of board 6 forwardly from illuminating panel 76. Lip 46 will prevent it from falling onto the iloor. When bulb 54 is energized light is transmitted into pedestal panel 40 where it illuminates the Cross, Star of David, or other symbol etched therein. Similarly, when bulb 62 is energized light is transmitted upwardly through illuminating panel 76 where it strikes the prism-forming beveled face 78 and is reflected forwardly out of panel 76 to cast soft fluorescent illumination upon the upper surface of board 6 or whatever might be placed upon it. The same light prominently illuminates whatever message is etched into the rear face of panel 76. By polishing the inwardly facing surfaces of housing 88 as well as the undersurface of shield 80, it is possible to obtain more efficient illumination on board 6.

Inasmuch as illuminating panel 76 is thin as well as uniform in cross-sectional thickness, it is compatible with the trim lines of modern design concepts. Furthermore, one initially observing support stand 2 immediately experiences the sensation of light coming from nowhere and consequently the existence of the registration ibook is impressed on the individuals mind. Accordingly, the chances of the book being overlooked are reduced considerably.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A support stand comprising a supporting member having a substantially planar upper surface on which an item may be placed; a substantially transparent illuminating panel secured adjacent one of the edges of said supporting member and extending upwardly above said planar upper surface to terminate at a beveled end face inclined at an angle with respect to the surfaces adjacent it on said panel, thereby forming a prism; and a light source located adjacent and below said panel, whereupon the light rays emitted from said light source will enter the panel to illuminate it; said beveled end face of said panel having a predetermined inclination which causes the light rays to be rellected downwardly onto said upper surface of said supporting member.

2. A support stand according to claim 1 in which the illuminating panel has parallel front and rear faces and a bottom face which is substantially perpendicular to the front and rear faces, the bottom face being located adjacent the light source.

3. A support stand according to claim 2 in which the front, rear, bottom and beveled faces of the illuminating panel are planar.

4. A support stand according to claim 3 in which the front and rear faces of the illuminating panel are substantially perpendicular to the support surface and the beveled face is inclined at an angle with respect thereto.

5. A support stand according to claim 3 and further characterized by a shield disposed over the beveled face, the shield having a reflective surface located in abutment with the beveled face whereby to aid in reflecting light rays onto the support surface of the supporting member.

6. A support stand according to claim 5 and further characterized by a lip formed on the shield and extending over the edge of the illuminating panel dened by the intersection of the front and beveled faces.

7. A support stand according to claim 4 wherein the supporting member is a board having a substantially planar upper surface above which the illuminating panel projects; the stand being further characterized by a pedestal secured to the underside of the board for supporting the board in upwardly spaced relation to a lower supporting surface.

8. A stand according to claim 7 in which the pedestal includes a substantially vertical pedestal panel formed from a transparent light-conducting material and having a symbol etched therein, the upper end of the panel being located adjacent a light source for illuminating the symbol.

9. A support stand according to claim 7 wherein the light source is aixed to the underside of the board immediately beneath the bottom face of the illuminating panel; wherein a second light source is ailixed to the underside of the board adjacent the pedestal; wherein the ped estal includes a pedestal panel formed from a transparent piece of light-conducting material and having a symbol etched therein, the pedestal panel upwardly terminating in close proximity to the second light source so that light rays emitted therefrom will be transferred to the pedestal panel for illumination of the symbol therein.

10. A support stand according to claim 7 and further characterized by panel mounts for supporting the illuminating panel, the panel mounts including a lower flange which is afxed to the underside of the board and projects rearwardly therefrom beyond the end margins of the board and upstanding flanges which project upwardly against the rear face of the illuminating panel, whereby 6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,898,666 2/1933 Isaacson 240-4 1,950,548 3/1934 Fuller.

2,480,178 8/ 1949 Zinberg.

3,079,491 2/1963 Janssen 240-4 OTHER REFERENCES A.P.C, Ser No. 375,429, published May 25, 1943, A. Weber applicant.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner a portion of the illuminating panel is sandwiched between 15 D- S- STALLARD Assistant Examiner the rear face of the board and the upstanding anges. 

